Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed confidence Friday that America can maintain strong ties with the Catholic Church, even as President Donald Trump continues his public disagreements with Pope Leo.
Following his Thursday visit to Vatican City, Rubio described his meeting with church officials as “very positive” while speaking to reporters before departing Rome on Friday.
When questioned about the president’s public criticism of Pope Leo regarding his statements on the Iran conflict and other matters, Rubio defended Trump’s approach, saying the president acts in America’s best interests and “will always speak clearly about how he feels about the U.S. and U.S. policy.”
“I think we can do that and continue to also have a very productive and fruitful and important relationship with the church, because it plays an important role in the world as well,” Rubio stated.
Regarding Cuba’s ongoing energy shortage amid U.S. restrictions on oil deliveries to the island nation, Rubio announced America’s willingness to increase humanitarian assistance.
The announcement came as Washington imposed fresh sanctions Thursday targeting a Cuban military-run business conglomerate and a mining partnership, part of ongoing efforts to pressure the communist government toward implementing reforms.
According to Rubio, America has already delivered $6 million in humanitarian assistance to Cuban citizens through church channels and had proposed providing $100 million directly to the Cuban government, which declined to handle the distribution.
